Social Media

eBay Countdown Turns Bidding Into a Game

eBay Countdown is a way to monitor your eBay listings with instant updates. It almost turns the joy of online auctioning into a live game. Initially rolled out in July, it's currently launching its expanded beta version, giving access to all eBay users. Built on the eBay Platform, this tool offers up visual and audio alerts for ongoing bid status. This is a browser-based tool that will show you when you've been outbid, or when a watched item is about to end.

If simple (and constant) alerts don't do it for ya, perhaps you'll enjoy the inclusion of interactive tools for communicating with other Countdown users for the duration of a listing. It seems that social shopping is still a concept that many are willing to build on, with networks like OSoYou and games like SoLow and Jellyfish. It also seems like eBay is doing everything it can to continually engage its users.

This is the latest in a growing list of tools the company has launched, from widgets to neighborhoods, which act as clustered social networks for users to further interact with eBay buyers and sellers. No doubt, eBay has become part of our culture. But I'm not sure if it's that ingrained with our way of life.

I'll give it to eBay for throwing as much at the wall as possible, and seeing what sticks. I can't knock a company for attempting to stay in the web 2.0 game, and it's clear that eBay is providing several tools for getting to users wherever they are. Its platform looks to help ebay achieve this goal as well, by encouraging the developer community to make applications like Auctomatic's.

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